The University of Maine at Farmington Art Gallery plans to open its 2022-23 season with “Mandala” and “Push Pull Place” — exhibitions of new and ongoing digital work by Kate Quinn Sibole.

The exhibit will be on display from Thursday, Sept. 1, through Saturday, Oct. 8, at the gallery, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 1, at 246 Main St. in Farmington. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

In “Mandala,” Sibole explores the symbol of the universe in ideal form, the process of the form’s creation signifying the transformation of suffering and worry into joy and beauty. Working on these “digital meditations” on and off for the past 10-plus years, Sibole’s practice with them resurfaced in a more intentional way in 2020, according to a news release from the university.

In a new body of work based in the Maine landscape, “Push Pull Place,” Sibole finds inspiration in the words of poet Victoria Erickson:

“Listen to the night as the night knows your truths, your stories,
your aches, your dreams,
your cravings, your forgotten memories; not so forgotten.”

This series of photographs is the artist’s slow roll to the edge of memory. She asks, can we step fully into a beautiful place graced by warm sun, tender waves, and grounding earth? Do we bring with us the layers of worry, imbalance, and fear? We can’t have one without the other. It is an overwhelming frustration — push without the pull?

Sibole received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography & Animation at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Since 1999 she has been professor and department chair of communications and new media studies at Southern Maine Community College.

The UMF Art Gallery is dedicated to bringing contemporary art to the campus and regional communities. Gallery hours are from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and by appointment.

For more information or to make an appointment, contact Sarah Maline at maline@maine.edu or 207-778-1062.

 

 

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